Time and Affect
by Razial
Summary: Xander and his friends are forever cursed to protect Earth and the Universe.
1. Chapter 1

Time and Affect

Author: David Mycock

Beta: Hawklan

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of the characters from the show, they belong to Joss Whedon. I also do not own any of the characters from Andromeda they belong to Gene Roddenberry.

Pairings: Xander/Jenny and Dylan/Rommie

Notes: The first half of this story is set during the actual run of the series Andromeda and the second half will run before the series, just before the betrayal of the Nietzschean's of the Systems Commowealth. There will also be flashbacks of the past of how Xander and the gang survived so far into the future.

Summary: Xander and his friends are forever cursed to protect Earth and the Universe.

Chapter 1

(Dawn's Twilight)

Xander looked around as his crew worked hard to prepare the ship for battle. He rubbed his eyes and wondered if they would be able to make it through the coming battle. He doubted it, as the Magog invasion continued to run rampant, the traitorous Nietzschean's helped the chaos, as they continued to try and destroy what was left of the new Commonwealth and its fleet. He felt tired. He and his friends had been through this all before, when the old Commonwealth fell and even before that.

They had been cursed by an angry group of Powers that Be for disrupting their plans far too much, so in return they were cursed with immortality and a small touch of invulnerability to be the constant defenders of first Earth and then the universe. They had failed, as Earth was now nothing but bits and pieces, having been destroyed by the Drago-Kazov pride and now it would seem they would fail to save the universe. He looked across the deck where Jenny stood at her station, looking worried. Next to her Buffy prepared weapons. Tara was in the medical bay, whilst Giles and Faith were somewhere below. Willow was at sensors and communications and finally Dawn in the centre of the bridge as the pilot.

He looked over to the viewing screen, which showed the fleet, which his ship was a part of. In the front were the Andromeda Ascendant, Dylan Hunt's ship, and the only other man who knew that history was repeating itself. He turned and took his own station and read the reports coming in from all decks. He nodded pleased to see that his crew were holding their nerves together.

"Captain, message from the Andromeda," Willow reported. "The Magog are coming and so is the world ship, time of arrival is estimated at two hours," she informed him.

Even after all these years she felt strange being so formal with Xander, when they had first become a crew in the old commonwealth, Xander had quickly advanced to the rank of captain and with friends like Dylan Hunt and others within the fleet, he had managed to get all of his old friends transferred to his new ship. Of course the destruction of the old Commonwealth had left them with no where to go. Earth was quickly over run by first the Magog and then the damn Nietzschean's had taken it by force.

She remembered that day well, it had hurt to realize that they had failed in their duty to safe guard Earth and the universe seemed to be following it. They had endured the long night as best they could, with only themselves to rely on, fighting to survive in a universe gone mad. Then Dylan and the Andromeda had escaped the black hole and begun to restore the lost Commonwealth and Xander had quickly signed them all up to help. Of course they'd had to come up with a cover story, as to how they were still alive after three hundred years.

She wondered what would have happened had they not been cursed by the vengeful Powers that Be. Then shook her head, knowing it was pointless especially now to think about such things. She glanced at Buffy and noted how tense she was. Buffy had not been the same since they had become cursed. The loss of a lot of their friends in battle and then old age had scarred her badly. It had been hard for all of them, as each time they made friends and family they lost them and now they were the last. She wanted to see Tara, but knew her lover was busy in Medical.

"Understood Willow," Xander replied. "Any news from the rest of the galaxy?" he inquired.

"Just multiple wars and small attacks are being fought between nearly every species in the universe," Willow responded. "It is exactly like Trance and Dawn said, complete and utter anarchy," she added frowning.

Dawn's powers as the key gave her the same mystical powers as Trance and her people, in fact Trance had stated on more than one occasion that it was possible the key was something her people had created and misplaced centuries ago.

"How can we possible stop this?" Buffy exclaimed, beginning to feel it was hopeless and facing Xander who now stood near Jenny, his wife since just before becoming immortal.

Xander had managed to save her from Angelus, with help from Kendra who had showed up unexpectedly. From there they and the rest of the Scooby gang had worked hard to stop Angelus. Sadly Kendra had been killed and in the last big battle Buffy had been forced to sacrifice Angel, who just had gotten his soul back, thanks to Jenny and Willow's spell to stop Acathula from sending the world to hell. Xander and Jenny had started to get closer from that point on, as Jenny and Giles had decided to call it quits.

The strain had just been too much for them to handle, with the lies on both sides. Buffy still being slightly upset over the loss of Angel, although she understood now that Jenny had never known how the curse would be broken, until it was too late. The group had gotten stronger and when Faith had arrived even more so, until the accident that had resulted in a man's death. Faith had gone postal and it had taken along time to get her back on the right path.

"Maybe we can't stop it Buffy," Xander snapped, annoyed by her defeatism. "But we are going to try, no matter what," he added with passion.

He knew Buffy had not been the same since being cursed and having to lose so many loved ones, but sometimes she said the wrong thing at the wrong time just to annoy him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, before opening them again and looking at the rest of his bridge crew.

"Understand this, maybe the last battle to ever be fought by the known worlds is about to take place and nothing we will do will stop it coming, because the damage has already been done thanks to Tyr and the Abyss," he explained. "But some people still believe in us, they still believe we can hold back the night and so we will try. That is our duty as High Guard and if we must go out, then it will be on our feet and not on our damn knees," he shouted.

The crew all cheered, inspired a bit by his words and quickly redoubled their efforts. Willow and Jenny shared a small smile between themselves, whilst Dawn hugged her sister, trying to comfort her. The Dawn Twilight's Avatar, which was modelled after Cordelia, watched it from the far side of the bridge. She was aware of the true nature of her captain and his friends and so knew there was a deeper meaning to his words than the rest of the crew knew.

(Andromeda Ascendant)

Dylan was busy with trying to get his ship prepared to meet the onslaught that was about to come down on them. He had failed to stop the Magog and he had failed to stop Tyr's damn rebellion. That had been the beginning of the end for them all. He couldn't believe it was all happening again, the fall of the Commonwealth and soon the universe would follow. He looked up as Rommie, his ships avatar, walked onto the bridge followed by Beka and Rhade.

"All weapons and defence batteries are ready, Dylan," Rommie reported. "Harper reports engines are at max and should last through the battle," she added.

"That's if we even survive that long, considering what is about to descend on us Rommie," Beka shot back tightly, her nerves on edge. "We'll be lucky to last five minutes," she added.

"Easy Beka," Dylan said, knowing his first officer and friend was just blowing of steam. "I admit we're basically facing annihilation here, but we can't run as there is nowhere to run to and you know that," he said, grimly feeling drained. "All we can do is stand and fight and maybe, just maybe a miracle will happen and we will win," he stated with very little belief in his own words.

Even he could not see a way out of what was about to come to pass. He had spent his entire life fighting the odds and somehow managing to pull off amazing wins, but now he was beat and he knew it. He had summoned every last Commonwealth or allied ship to arms and they had come. He had one of the largest fleets in the known worlds and yet even with that he doubted they would survive.

"If this is the end Captain, then a glorious end we will have," Telemachus Rhade said. "Nearly every Commonwealth world has been over run or attacked including Tarazed, which was done by the Nietzschean's who joined Tyr's rebellion. All we can do is try and stem the tide," he pointed out.

"Captain, we've just gotten a return signal from Dawn's Twilight, asking to send an advance party to engage the world ship, with a full nova bomb deployment author_ized," Andromeda's AI reported._

_"Looks like Alex is getting a little uneasy with the waiting," Dylan mused with a shake of his head, knowing that his old friend hated waiting. "Tell Alex his request is denied, no one is to leave the fleet," he ordered._

_"Yes Captain," Andromeda responded with a nod, before vanishing from the screen._

_"It might work you know," Rommie spoke up. "We did manage to damage the world ship by launching a nova bomb into the sun that powers it," she reminded him. "If we launched multiple nova bombs at the world ship we could destroy it completely," she advised._

_"I know that Rommie, but the cost in life would be enormous and we don't know for sure it would work and considering the waves of Magog swarm ships that are with it, I doubt we'd get close to even enact the plan," Dylan argued. "In the end all it will most likely do, is rob us of ships and people we can't afford to lose," he added, rubbing his eyes and leaning against the wall._

_"So we just wait and pray," Beka said, after a small silence had descended on them. _

_(Dawn's Twilight)_

_Xander shook his head, as Cordelia reported Dylan's response, granted it wasn't actually Cordelia, but it was programmed with most of her memories and personality. During the long night he and the others had reprogrammed the Twilight's AI and Avatar: it was not like anyone could complain with the Commonwealth gone. Seeing another friendly face helped them deal with the chaos a little better. The memories and personality had been provided by Willow and Tara's magic. Granted they couldn't use it much on board the ship, but they still practiced it. He leaned back in his chair, as Jenny entered their room. _

_"I can't believe, that after so many battles, so many wars we're so close to the end at last," Jenny said, as she sat opposite him. "A part of me can't wait for it to be over, so we can finally see all our lost loved ones again," she admitted. _

_"I know how you feel Jenny," Xander nodded sighing. "Even we can't survive this, somehow I get the feeling that the Powers have revoked our _invulnerability completely," he told her, locking eyes with his wife. "This is what they intend to be our final fate," he stated clearly.

"You'd think after all this time they would let go of their grudge for what we did all those years ago?" Jenny sighed, hating the Powers for their cruelty.

"We stood up to them and ruined their plans and for that we will never be forgiven, don't forget, to them we are nothing more than pawns," Xander reminded her, standing up and paced around.

Jenny watched her husband pace, knowing he was correct. The powers did not take kindly to their pawns standing up to them. All those years ago it had seemed like a good idea. Now she wasn't so sure. Even with all the things she had seen and done in the last couple of centuries she wasn't sure it was worth the price they all had paid. She frowned before rethinking that.

She'd shared a love that had lasted centuries with Xander and friendships that had lasted just as long with Buffy and the others, once they had sorted out their problems when they had learned who she really was and why she had come to Sunnydale all those years ago. She had used her real name off and on over time, but for now she was once again Jenny.

She had seen amazing things as earth had finally united and begun to explore space. She had seen the amazing things that had happened once Earth had joined the Commonwealth, thinking on all that, maybe it was worth it.

She finally got tired of watching Xander pace. She stood up and grabbed him, forcing him to turn to her before catching him in a deep passionate kiss. She moaned, enjoying the sensation as she always did, before finally pulling away and resting against him.

"This may be the end for our immortal lives, Alex, but we will have eternity in heaven, to spend with all of our loved ones," Jenny said, with a deep belief she was speaking the truth. "I think after all we've been through we deserve our reward," she added.

Xander couldn't help but agree with her last statement. They had fought, bled and sacrificed so much in the course of their duty. They had never stepped away from the fight, not once, and if this was to be their end, well as before it would end in a fight.

"We fight to the bitter end," he finally replied. "And make Joyce, Jessie, Cordy and all the others proud of us one last time," he continued, with a smile she quickly shared.

They finally headed out of their room and back to the bridge, nodding to crew members as they went. They were joined by Tara and Faith on the way. Faith, like Buffy, looked very tense and unsure, but looked ready for action as she always had. Tara was calm and peaceful, but then he would expect nothing else from her. Tara had always been a believer in her goddess and what would eventually be gifted with when it was time. He smiled and was glad that she was still with them. Finally making it to the bridge he accepted the reports from one of his crew and noted the ship was ready for the battle to come. He took a deep breath, as they all took their positions, as Giles joined them on the bridge.

"Time until the Magog arrive?" Faith inquired, still wondering why Xander had made her his second in command.

She remembered that day very well and had been shell shocked that he had not asked someone like Buffy or Willow, hell even Jenny would have been a choice she would have expected from him. Instead he had chosen her, telling her he trusted her to have the ship and crews best interest at heart should she need to take command and that she would not buckle under the pressure. That had blown her away, but he had seemed to be correct as she had not buckled. Many times she'd been forced to take command during both the old and new Commonwealth, if she was honest with herself she enjoyed those times.

She had come a long way from the scared girl, who had run into Sunnydale after Kakistos killed her first watcher. She wondered what her choose mother would think of the future, of the things she had seen since the group had been cursed. She still missed her first watcher, who had been like a mother to her, but now she had to focus as the ultimate battle was about to be engaged.

"Ten minutes," Buffy responded, glancing only briefly at Faith, as Giles took a stance beside her.

She wanted to be anywhere but here, but Xander was right, where could they go? The Commonwealth was about to be swallowed by the combined attacks of the Magog and the Nietzschean's. She had once thought she knew exactly how her life would end, but in the end she had no clue. She had led her friends against the Powers and she had born the brunt of the responsibility for their cursed. Instead of being angry or vengeful they had been understanding and helpful, but as the years passed and their friends and family died, she began to hate and despise herself.

She still had nightmares of walking in and seeing her mother dead, of seeing Anya crucified by a twisted vampire called Karis and even Angel's violent end. She faced each day knowing she would see another friend die, another innocent wiped from exsistance. She was tired of it all and wanted to rest, but the damn Powers would not allow them to. Now it seemed the she would get her wish, maybe.

(Ten Minutes later)

Xander, Dylan and every other captain in the fleet watched in dread, as the largest swarm of Magog ships entered their system, followed closely by the world ship itself. They waited only seconds, before giving the order to go to battle stations.

(Andromeda Ascendant)

Trance watched from the back of the bridge, as the Magog advanced on them in huge waves, she shivered knowing it was all over and once again the universe was going to be destroyed.

It was time, she thought, for desperate measures. Dylan could no longer help stop this, not at this point in time. She quickly advanced and grabbed him and Rommie who were standing side by side and vanished from the bridge.

Beka was stunned by Trance's move, but then reconsidered, maybe her mysterious friend had a plan to save them all. She quickly stepped up and took command, making sure no one lost his or her heart.

(Dawn's Twilight)

Trance quickly relaxed as they appeared on the Twilight with a smile. Dylan of course was annoyed, but he was well used to Trance's actions so he contained his annoyance. Rommie looked around, noting many of Xander's bridge crew were dead. The ship was beginning to buckle under the pressure of the Magog's weapons.

"Dylan, how did you get here?" Willow asked confused, as she noted the new comers before realising Trance must be behind it. "Trance, what is it?" she asked, turning to the gold skinned girl.

"Good, you're all here," Trance said, as Xander and the others moved towards them. "Listen and listen quickly, we do not have much time. What is happening here can no longer be stopped and going back again by myself will not stop it either, so I am going to do something that is a last resort, but to do it, I will have to have Dawn's help," she explained.

"What are you going to do?" Tara inquired, not really liking Trance's tone.

"I, with Dawn's help send you all back 300 years, back to before the fall of the old Commonwealth," Trance answered. "It's the only way now, our last hope to save the universe, when you arrive Xander tell Dylan and Rommie the truth about yourselves, they can be trusted," she said sadly. "You will awake in your younger bodies, but with all of your memories intact. Your mission is simple, stop the fall from ever happening," she stated, looking them all in the eyes. "I will find you as soon as I can, another one will also join you on this mission," she finished.

"Who Trance?" Dylan asked, not really believing Trance could do what she had said, even with Dawn's help whatever help Dawn could give, if any.

"Before this time line came into existence, another one played out where you died during the battle of Hephaistos, killed by Gaheris Rhade. It was he who went on to be frozen on the edge of the black hole and he who went on to try and restore the Commonwealth," Trance answered, as the ship buckled again. "He failed, but he was able to come back in time during all that mess with the Tesseracts machine Harper built to kill his younger self and take his place, so he could ensure you survived the fight and restore the Commonwealth. He was loyal in the end Dylan, all he wanted was to safeguard his people," she explained, stunning Dylan into silence.

"Why did you never mention this before, Trance?" Rommie inquired, wondering if it was possible even knowing Trance's origin.

"It was not important at the time Rommie. Anyway this Gaheris will also be sent back to aid you, as you will need him to convice the Nietzschean's to remain in the Commonwealth," Trance responded evasively. "Everyone, hold hands, we have to do this now, before this ship is destroyed," she added.

Everyone did as ordered, knowing they had nothing left to lose. Trance quickly joined her mind to Dawn's and began to draw off her energy. Dawn quickly became aware of the truth of her existence, she smiled and allowed Trance to do what she needed to do, as well as she understood that this was the last throw of the dice.

If they failed to stop the fall then everything that had happened in the last few years would happen again. She closed her eyes and prayed they would be successful. What was left of the crew watched as their captain and his command staff, as well as Captain of the fleet Dylan Hunt and his Avatar begin to burn with an orange light, which they soon could not even look at, finally there was a large pulse and they were all gone.

(Ether)

The Powers snorted in disgust, as the Sun Avatar saved Summers and her friends by transporting them back in time. They shook their heads, annoyed by this turn of events, but sure that nothing they tried to do would stop them from finally dying. Their curse had been fun and served as a good punishment, but they wanted to see the end of them now, but as usual they survived.


	2. Chapter 2

Time and Effect

Author: David Mycock

Beta: Hawklan

Chapter 2

(Andromeda Ascendant)

Gaheris Rhade opened his eyes and blinked a few times before realizing he was alive. That took him a few minutes to process before everything came back to him. The rebellion, killing Dylan and then being frozen on the event horizon of the black hole and of finally being freed by Beka and her crew to find it was all done for nothing. The Nietzschean Alliance had fractured at the end of the war and civil war had reigned. Millions of his people were dead and worse with them and the Commonwealth so weakened the Magog had invaded and millions more had died. In the future his people were like pirates praying on the weak.

Oh how he had come to hate and loathe them for how far they had fallen, he had tried to restore the Commonwealth, but he had failed badly and lost most of his crew, one even by his own hand. Tyr's treachery had been anticipated and he had dealt with it, but it had just weakened his position, finally during the crisis with the Tesseracts machine a new version of Trance had come to him and made him realize he could not succeed.

She had taken him back in time to the point just before killing Dylan and then left. He had murdered his younger self and taken his place, ensuring Dylan survived and he had perished knowing in his last moments that his friend would succeed hopefully, where he had failed.

He sat up slowly, wondering just what in hell was going on. He looked down at his hand and noticed the scar Tyr's blade had caused, just before he had killed him. He looked around and noted he was on the Andromeda and wearing his old Commonwealth uniform which confused him even more. He finally stood up and saw he was in his room. He quickly moved over to his desk and grabbed his force lance and then headed for command. He had to work at ignoring seeing crew members who had either died during the rebellion and even some he had personally killed during the battle.

Clearly something strange was going on, he paused as he entered the bridge as standing in the middle looking wearily around was Dylan and next to him was Rommie, who could not exist just yet, as she had not been built in this time.

"Gaheris," Dylan said as he finally noted his presence. "Walk with us," he said and quickly head down the corridor.

He considered pulling his force lance before shaking his head knowing until he knew more about what the situation was he should do nothing that might expose him. He turned and followed his friend and the ship's avatar.

"Dylan, are you ok?" he inquired, wondering why his friend seemed so tense.

"No Gaheris I am not and when I tell you why, you are going to understand. According to Trance you know exactly how I feel," Dylan responded, shocking Gaheris with the use of Trance's name. "I'm from the future, Rhade, as is Rommie. Something I think you can already tell as Harper will be the one to build her 300 years from now," he continued.

"I don't understand. How is this possible?" Gaheris exclaimed with a shake of his head and paused. "If you are who I suspect you to be, then I should be dead Dylan. What happened?" he asked, being close to demanding.

"Not here Gaheris and not now," Dylan responded, understanding exactly what Gaheris was feeling and yet he was still weary of this man, no matter what Trance had said.

The last time he had seen Gaheris Rhade was during the fight, just before he had been frozen on the event horizon of the black hole. Trance had said this Rhade had actually won their fight and he had been the one frozen. He did not know how to feel, so he decided to just do his best to concentrate on the matter at hand.

"Rommie, I want you to interface with your AI and upload your memories and personality, so that we don't have to worry about being exposed," Dylan said, turning to the android woman.

"Good idea Dylan," Rommie agreed, before she turned and left.

Dylan watched her go, feeling as always the conflicted feelings he usually felt whenever he was near her. He had always had an attachment to Rommie, but his engagement with Sara had always given him a buffer to ignore them. That buffer had been taken from him when he had been frozen along with Rommie. In his mind there was very little difference between Rommie and her AI counterparts, except Rommie had a far more range for emotions.

He had to shake himself out of his trance, as Rommie rounded the corner and vanished. He turned to look at Rhade and noted that he was trying to refrain himself from grinning. He ignored him as best as he could and turned to the nearby computer screen, where Andromeda's AI was watching them.

"Andromeda, what is the position of the Twilight?" he inquired.

"The Twilight is currently on patrol in the Acheron system," Andromeda responded. "Captain, may I inquire where the avatar that resembles me came from?" the AI inquired a second later.

"It is complicated, but you will understand soon, as she is heading for your core system to interface and update you on the situation," Dylan responded, not surprised by the question. "Don't worry, it won't harm you," he added at her questioning look.

"I understand Captain," Andromeda replied.

"Tell the helm to plot a course to Acheron and engage slipstream," Dylan ordered before turning and heading for his quarters along with Gaheris.

(Dawn's Twilight)

Xander shook his head as he came to and looked around. He quickly noted he was on the bridge of his ship with people around him. He quickly sat up and looked around again, noting Faith, Dawn, Willow and Buffy were also down and still out. He stood with a little help from Maxwell, one of his ship's original crew members.

"Are you okay sir?" Maxwell inquired as he stepped back.

"Yeah I'm fine thanks," he replied. "Take Faith and the others to Medical, along with anyone else who is still out," he ordered, as Cordelia (Twilight) walked over to him flanked by two security guards who had their force lances at the ready.

"Sir, Kalderash, McLay and Giles were also found unconscious," Jenkins reported. "They are already in Medical," he added.

Xander nodded, having already expected that. No one on board knew Jenny was his wife, as it was against High Guard policy for members to have relationships, let alone marry. So she went under her real last name Kalderash. It was a hassle, but it was one they were willing to live with.

"Sir this woman appeared at the same time you and the other crew members fell unconscious," one of the guards stated.

"That's okay Sergeant, I know her," he replied. "She is not a threat, so you can stand down," he added, noting both guards did just that, which relieved him. "Twilight, I want Andromeda's position," he ordered, turning to the watching AI of his ship, which was in its original mode before he and the others had changed it.

"The Andromeda is heading straight for us Captain," Twilight replied. "I am unsure why she has suddenly abandoned her patrol route. There is no emergency that I am aware of," she went on, sounding confused.

Xander nodded, as it meant Dylan would soon arrive and they could all sit down and talk about what they needed to do to stop the fall of the Commonwealth. He wondered how much time they had before the Nietzschean began their rebellion.

"Let me know when they arrive, I'll be in medical," he ordered, before he turned around and headed to the med deck, followed by Cordelia.

(Ether)

The Powers that Be were annoyed with the Sun Avatars actions, which had basically given the Slayers and their friends another shot at life and actually succeeding in their mission.

Time meant nothing to them and so they knew exactly what had happened in the future. They had plans in place to replace the universe with new worlds and new life, once the destruction of the old one had taken place thanks to the Abyss. Now all of that was destroyed. Once again someone had destroyed their hard worked plans. However they had no power over the Sun Avatars, as they were beyond the Powers control, so for now they could do nothing but watch.

That did not mean they would sit back if an opportunity to remove the Slayers and their friends forever came up. It did not matter anymore that they suffered, whilst the curse lasted. They just wanted them gone.

(Andromeda Ascendant, computer core)

Rommie watched as her AI integrated her memories and personality. She felt lost at the moment, as in the minute she had arrived here in this time frame, she had lost the connection to the ship and her AI counterpart. Now that link would be rebuilt once the integration was completed. She had time to think and one of the first things that came to her was that in this period, Sara, Dylan's fiancée, was still alive. That was not a happy realization as nasty as it sounded. She had bonded with Dylan far beyond anything she had shared with him, before they had been frozen. They had shared a unique relationship, which sometimes boarded on the romantic. However they had never breached that barrier, now she was worried she might not ever have the man she loved.

Love was a concept she had experienced fully, once she had an Avatar body, thanks to Harper. Her relationship with Gabriel, the Avatar of the insane AI Balance of Judgment, had shown her the ups and downs of love and other emotions, that Avatars seemed to be able to feel. Ignoring her AI's advice had been a strange thing, but something she had grown used to in the future, still even when she had not had a body, her AI core persona had feelings for Dylan, even if she had basically denied them later on.

"Integration complete," her AI's voice quickly brought her out of her thoughts. "Hello Rommie, you should not be here," Andromeda stated.

"I know and I would not be, had not Trance insisted it was necessary if we wanted to stop the downfall of the universe," Rommie countered. "As you well know, thanks to the download," she added with a glare.

"I do know, however I am not happy with certain events that happened in your time frame and we will be discussing them later on," Andromeda responded.

Rommie sighed, having expected this from her AI counterpart. A lot of what she had done in the future was not exactly standard for Avatar's and what she did, reflected on her AI counterpart, so she settled in for a long talk.

In the Captain's quarters Dylan and Gaheris were playing a game of Go, something they had done many times in the past. They were both unsure how to really act in the presence of each other, considering what they knew of what happened in the future, still even with that their friendship was intact, strangely enough.

"If we both failed to save the universe against the Magog and the Abyss, how can we save it now?" Gaheris inquired, watching Dylan make his move.

"I'm not to sure on Trance's plan, but if we can stop the rebellion of the Nietzschean, the Commonwealth will stay together and thus will be intact to face the Abyss, when it comes" Dylan speculated.

"That is not good enough. We have to take the fight to the Magog and wipe as much of them out as possible," Gaheris said seriously. "If we leave them where they are, they will attack no matter if there is chaos in the universe or not and it is possible we won't be able to stop them," he explained his reasoning, as he noted Dylan's skeptical look before making his own move.

Dylan had to admit Gaheris had a point there and considering what he had seen in the future, he knew the Magog would not go away. He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair.

"Plus another important fact you have to remember is that the Commonwealth did so badly in the war with my people, because they have not fought a proper war in years," Gaheris pushed on, wanting Dylan to see the point he was making.

Dylan remembered Andromeda saying much the same thing to him, just after they had learned the truth from Harper about the Commonwealth losing the war. He had never really thought to hard on that fact. At the time of the rebellion he had thought the Commonwealth was at its strongest, but in reality they had stagnated and weakened. They had been almost easy pickings for the Nietzschean.

"You're right Gaheris, on all points," Dylan finally admitted, hating to say it, but knowing it was true. "The Commonwealth needs to fight the Magog and regain the strength we have lost in peace. Once we meet up with Alex and his friends we can discuss tactics and a plan."

Gaheris nodded in agreement and settled back in his own chair, as they continued the game. They had a lot of work ahead of them, but he was sure they could pull it off. The only real problem they would have was the Drago-Kazov pride. Who had pushed for the rebellion with all its might, wanting to rule the universe themselves instead of serving someone else.

(Dawn's Twilight)

Xander watched as Cordelia or Twilight integrated with her AI's main core personality, hopefully this would prevent them having trouble with the AI itself. They did not need to be exposed as people from the future, if they were going to have any chance of actually succeeding in their mission. The others were now awake and back at their posts, bar Jenny who was asleep in her cabin. The fact that they had to go back to separate quarters in this timeframe was another problem they would have to work around now. After the fall he had grown used to sleeping in the same room as his wife and that was not something he was willing to give up.

Finally the integration was complete and he watched in surprise as the AI's features changed to match those of her Avatar, then again he guessed he should not be too surprised, as he knew just how powerful a link existed between the AI and its Avatar.

"Twilight, are you okay?" he inquired, stepping forward.

"Yes Xander I am fine. I understand everything my Avatar has uploaded to me and I am willing to do all I can to help," Twilight's AI responded.

"Glad to hear it, but remember for now we have to maintain our cover, so call me Captain," Xander replied. "I'll be with Jenny, as we still have a couple of hours until we meet up with Andromeda," he added, as he turned to leave, but was stopped by Twilight's voice.

"May I remind you Xander we are once again members of the old Commonwealth and relationships are forbidden, if any of the crew sees you enter her quarters there could be trouble," she warned him.

"Clear that area for me please, until we have sorted something else out, it will have to do," Xander said after a few minutes of thought. "Tell Faith she has command unless there is an emergency," he added before heading for Jenny's room.

Twilight and her Avatar watched him go, before doing as he asked. It was not hard after all and she understood why he was asking, thanks to the memories from Willow and Tara and the upload from her Avatar. She had once been a normal Commonwealth AI, but after the fall that had changed thanks to her friends. She had a lot of the deceased Cordelia Chase in her now, including memories.

It was strange having a set of memories that was not her own inside her, but she excepted them as she knew her Captain and his command crew were loyal to the Commonwealth, more than anyone knew. She knew their true mission and curse and so she would aid them any way she could. She quickly relayed orders to Faith and then began checking her systems, whilst her Avatar headed for the bridge.

Faith stood on the bridge, as she received the orders from Xander and was not surprised by them. He needed a little time with Jenny before they got down to the hard stuff. She had watched Xander's relationship with Jenny get stronger and stronger as time passed and she sometimes envied the other woman, but at this point other rules get in the way of them being together openly.

Hell it was the same for Willow and Tara, whose relationship had endured the long centuries just as well as Xander and Jenny's had. Faith had an off and on relationship with Dawn, something that had surprised everyone, especially Buffy, but whilst the blonds' immediate reaction had been one of shock and anger she had quickly realized with their curse it made sense, granted most of them had relationships with people they had met and even families with them.

That was one of the problems of immortality, watching their families die. That was what had affected Buffy so damn much and changed her personality so. Xander and Jenny strangely enough had not been affected too badly by losing their family, accepting it was part of life, but for the last 100 years they had refrained from having kids again. Xander was also the surrogate father for Willow and Tara's children, as he had donated his sperm so they could have children when they wanted them. Jenny had understood the witches' reason for requesting Xander being the father and allowed it.

Even she had once had a family, but that was a long time ago. The pain of losing them had been unlike anything she had felt before and so she had not had anymore, but sometimes she caught herself dreaming of a new family. Maybe if they made it through all this she might start looking for a new lover again.

Xander slipped into Jenny's room without being seen, thanks to Twilight and quickly undressed and slipped into the bed beside her. Jenny instantly shifted into him and then sighed before returning to her dreams. Xander stayed awake, watching his wife for a bit before joining her in slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

Time and Affect Chapter 3

(Elsewhere)

Trance breathed a sigh of relive. She finally felt strong enough to reform and go looking for Dylan and their friends. The trip back through time had taken every bit of power she had. Even with Dawn's help it had been hard to pull them all back, as well as grab a hold of the alternate Gaheris Rhade and make sure he came back as well, still the fact she could do that, raised questions about Dawn's true origin and just what she was.

She had plenty of ideas, including that Dawn was also a sun avatar, but that did not tally completely with what they had just done. She decided to see if her people had any answers before tracking down Dylan and the others as it may be important for them to know. She just prayed they would succeed in their mission. She had not been joking when she had stated this would be their last chance. If they failed here there was no point trying again, as it would prove there was no way to win, she sighed before heading for the meeting place of her people, intent on getting answers.

(Dawn's Twilight)

Jenny awoke in the arms of her husband and smiled, knowing their time together was going to be very limited, until their mission was complete. She hated that, but knew it was a small price to pay for saving Earth and the universe. Still even with that thought in her head she would miss being able to just climb into bed with Xander whenever she wanted. She shifted back into him with a smile, feeling him press up against her silk covered behind and wiggled a little, causing Xander to moan.

Xander awoke to Jenny pushing herself into him and making him very aware of her presence. She loved teasing him even after all these years and her silk nightgown just made it all the more noticeable. Letting his hands roam upwards towards her breasts making her moan in return made him grin when suddenly a beeping sound broke them out of their intended actions.

Cursing he turned to the comm panel near the bed and pressed it. "Yes Twilight?" he asked, as Jenny rolled over into him more.

"Sorry to disturb you Xander, but the Andromeda has come out of slipstream and is on approach," Twilight responded. "They will be in range within the next five minutes," she added.

"Very well I'll be on the bridge in a minute," Xander replied, knowing he and Jenny could not make love right now, no matter how much he wanted to ignore Andromeda's arrival and just indulge himself.

Turning the com off, he got up and stretched, before putting his uniform back on. Turning back to Jenny he paused as she lounged on the bed with the top half of her nightgown pulled down, exposing her breasts with a smirk. Cursing again he leaned forward and kissed her, before he headed out the door, trusting Twilight had cleared the corridor.

Jenny watched him go with a sigh, before getting up and going to get ready herself. As she climbed into the shower her mind began to drift into the past and she remembered the day things changed between her and Xander.

(Flashback, Sunnydale just after graduation)

Jenny sat in the Summers house alongside Buffy, Dawn, Joyce, Giles, Oz, Willow and Cordelia. This would most likely be the last time the group was all together for some time. That was a sad thought after all the things they had been through. Angel was already gone, headed for LA to try and redeem himself, not that she was sorry to see him go. Cordelia was intent on going to LA herself to try and become an actress and she wished the girl luck in that.

Buffy and most of the others would be heading for college when it was time.

The battle with the mayor had been costly for them all and especially Faith.

Their lost friend lay in the hospital in a coma. Her descent after accidentally killing a man was understandable to them all, even Buffy, once she got over her anger at being betrayed. They had all agreed that once Faith woke up, that they would try and bring their lost friend back into the fold.

She looked around and wondered where Xander was, as he had said he would be here. Maybe he was still recovering from the fight, but she doubted it, no he was up to something she was sure.

"So what are we going to do for the next three months?" Willow finally broke the silence. "I mean until college actually starts what is there for us to do?" she added.

"Well to be honest I have no idea," Giles responded. "With the destruction of the High School I am without a job and I have no idea what to do at the moment," he continued. "Granted we have taken out the mayor and a lot of the more dangerous vampires and demons he brought here, but that doesn't make Sunnydale safe," he warned.

"So you mean we still have to patrol?" Buffy stated, annoyed at this.

"I'm afraid so Buffy, however you will have plenty of time to mess around and shop, as you no longer have to deal with school," Giles shot back with a smile, which was returned by everyone else.

The door opening caused them all to turn as Xander entered, looking quite cheerful.

Jenny caught herself looking her friend over and noting the changes in him over the years. Shaking her head she turned back to the others, as they greeted their friend while he sat down next to her.

A lot had changed in the last year or so. Since being saved by Xander and Kendra from Angelus, she had formed a very strong bond of friendship with the young man, which she had thought off and on in the last couple of months could lead to something else.

Xander would be eighteen in a month's time and he had finished school. She was no longer a teacher, like Rupert she was out of a job since its destruction, so any rules or regulations forbidding a relationship were mute and void. She could admit she was attracted to him, but she had never seriously considered anything, until the last month before the battle with the Mayor. Now the idea seemed much more agreeable to her. She knew Xander was attracted to her as he had admitted as much to her before the fight. He had not done anything as he was still getting over his failed relationship with Cordelia and the fallout from the fluke he had shared with Willow.

She had told him that mistakes like this were bound to happen, as most teenagers ended up doing things like he had done. Hell she had told him about one of her own mistakes from high school which had caused him to relax and start seeing things in perspective.

Still the decision was not something she should rush, so she settled back and just listened as the group talked.

"So Xander, any ideas on what you are doing?" Cordelia asked her ex boyfriend.

The reforming of their friendship had been a slow process, but now it was complete. They would never have a relationship like they'd had before again, but they were once again friends. The sting of his betrayal still lingered, but she knew it would fade in time, plus she doubted their relationship would have lasted much longer anyway. She always had plans to be famous and heading to LA was the best starting place, however she knew in her heart Xander would never leave Sunnydale or the gang behind.

"Actually I'm going on my road trip, as I originally planned Cordy," Xander answered. "I managed to wangle a deal with my parents to loan me some cash to add to what I saved up so I can do it," he informed them.

"So you won't be able to hang with us during the lull, before college starts?" Buffy complained slightly, whilst Willow stared at her best friend since they were kids unable to believe what he had said.

"I need to get out of Sunnydale for a while Buffy, to clear my head and find some peace after all we've been through," Xander responded, running a tense hand through his hair. "Something tells me once college starts up we're going to be thrown right back into the fire," he stated.

"Don't you think you're being a little melodramatic Xander?" Willow argued. Unable to help but feel what had gone down between them had helped to push Xander into making this choice.

"Not at all Wills," Xander said with a smile and a shake of his head. "Even with the Mayor gone the Hellmouth is still here and that will always attract vampires and demons and even with the ones we've killed there are still major bad asses out there, right G-man?" Xander argued.

Giles removed his glasses and polished them again, ignoring Xander's attempts to wind him up. "Yes Xander, you are basically correct in your arguments. We've won many hard fights, but our duty is not over I'm afraid," he finally answered. "In the end the lull we have now, with the Mayor gone, will soon vanish and then we must prepare to meet the new threats that will eventually turn up I'm afraid," he explained with a sigh.

Buffy and the others exchanged worried and annoyed looks, but they all knew the former watcher was correct. More would come as long as the Hellmouth remained active. Joyce listened to it all with worry in her heart, as she began to fear what the future would bring for her daughters and their friends. She hoped that with the destruction of the Mayor they would all be given a lot of time away from risking their lives, but it seemed it was not to be so.

Dawn shifted closer to her mother, as she felt a cold shiver descend on her at Xander and Giles' words, she too had held out hope that the threats would soon end. Now it looked like it was never going to happen and that made her sad.

"When do you leave?" Oz inquired, breaking his silence.

"Tomorrow at about noon," Xander answered, shocking the others with how soon their friend would leave them for a time.

Jenny too was shocked and her mind began to race with thoughts and ideas about what she should do, the others just stared unable to really say anything in response. The idea of Xander leaving them for any serious amount of time was alien to them, and for Buffy and Willow they did not quite understand how they would get on without him or how he would do without them.

They had been together for the last three years almost none stop, bar the period where Buffy stayed with her father or ran away to LA, after sacrificing Angel to stop Acathula. This would be something new to their world and they were unsure about it.

"Do you have any idea where you will go?" Cordelia asked, interested to see where her friend intended to go.

"First stop LA and then from there San Francisco, but after that no really sure," Xander replied. "I'm borrowing my uncle Rory's jeep as he basically told me it would last the trip better than the Chevy," he added. "I can't wait to start, and by the time I come back I'll hopefully be a little wiser," he said with a smile.

"Well just be careful Xander and watch your back," Giles warned him. "Vampires and demons exist outside of Sunnydale and if you let your guard down you may just not come home," he added, ignoring the looks he received for his comments.

"Don't worry Giles I know that and I will not be going unarmed," Xander assured them all. "I promise I won't take any risks, unless someone's life is in danger," he added, as Buffy and Willow went to protest.

After another half hour of conversation the gang broke up and began to leave. Jenny had used that time to think long and hard and so she followed Xander and quickly caught up to him as he walked home.

"I don't suppose you would accept some company on your trip would you, Xander?" she inquired glancing at him.

"You want to get out of Sunnydale as well, Jenny?" Xander replied, wondering why she was asking this.

"I do, I think it would be good for me to be absent for a while," Jenny responded. "Plus together we can ensure we both come back alive," she added seriously.

Xander took that in before nodding his head, as he decided having some company would not be so bad and Jenny was his closest friend after the fluke business at the moment, he knew he could trust her.

"Ok, make sure you're ready to go by noon tomorrow," Xander finally said. "I'll pick you up at your place," he added with a smile.

Jenny smiled and quickly gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, before taking off for her own home to prepare. Xander watched her go, wondering just how their road trip would go.

(Dawn's Twilight)

Jenny finally shook the memories away and turned the water off, before she began to dry herself. Her thoughts drifted again, as she recalled the day that had begun the journey that would lead her to first fall in love with Xander and then to marry him.

Their union had lasted through the centuries and every so often they held a wedding ceremony to reaffirm their vows. They had many children who sadly were all gone now, even most of their descendants. However unlike Buffy who had become weighed down by these kinds of losses she and Xander had held onto the good times and remembered this was how life was meant to be, yes loosing their family was always painful, but it was part of the cycle.

The only reason they were even here was because they had followed Buffy in her rebellion against the Powers that be. She closed her eyes as she saw glimpses of that before banishing them again. Getting dressed she grabbed her own force lance and headed out of the room, intend on being on the bridge.

(Andromeda Ascendant)

Dylan watched as they came out of slip stream in the Acheron system, well it was almost time for them to sit down and start planning how to save the Commonwealth and hopefully with it the universe. He looked over at where Rommie stood and wondered what she was thinking about, before he shook his head and turned back to the screen.

"Have we locked onto the Twilight's position?" he inquired.

"Yes Captain, they are just orbiting Acheron station itself," Vincent responded from his post.

Dylan nodded in reply, it kind of crept him out seeing people he had long accepted as being dead once again walked around alive. He had to ensure he didn't do anything to make them distrust him or doubt him and at the moment that was hard.

"We're been hailed Captain, it's the Twilight," Rommie spoke up from her station.

"On screen Andromeda," he ordered and watched as his A.I's face was replaced with the bridge of the Twilight and Alex smiling face. "Captain Harris," he stated with a smile of his own.

"Welcome to Acheron Captain Hunt," Xander responded with a nod. "We're ready to receive you," he added.

"We'll come aboard in twenty minutes, I'll see you then," Dylan replied, before cutting communications and turning to his crew. "Have a slip shuttle prepared to transport us to the Twilight, set up a patrol route and keep radio silence," he ordered, before he moved to leave the bridge.

As usual his crew obeyed without anyone raising a single question, he remembered just how he was respected in this time frame. Hopefully the talks would not be slow, as he doubted Andromeda's absence from its proper station would go unnoticed for long. Gaheris and Rommie quickly joined him, as he headed for the hangar.

"Dylan, where do you think Trance is?" Rommie inquired.

"I'm not sure Rommie, but she said she'd find us and I am sure she will," Dylan responded.

"Trance is a very mysterious person and I am sure she will turn up when we least expect it," Gaheris added with a shake of his head. "I trusted her, but I could never tell just who or what she represented," he added.

"Well you'll find out during the talks Gaheris and believe me it will blow your mind," Dylan shot back. "Then again from what Trance said, Alex and his friends have a few things to tell us which we do not know also," he mused.

Silence descended as they walked as they all wondered just what kind of secrets and plans would be put forward at the upcoming meeting. They were all worried about just how they would manage to do something they had failed to do twice already.

(Darkness of Space)

In the vastness of a black hole something stirred, as it sensed changes and danger to its plans. The Abyss screamed in rage, as it realized what its enemy was trying to do and began to plot its counter move.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(Dawn's Twilight)

Xander watched as Dylan and Rommie came aboard with someone he had never expected to see again, Gaheris Rhade. Someone he had once believed to be a traitor, but if Trance was to be believed he was actually loyal to them. According to her, he had in another time line been the one frozen in time and when he came out he had tried to rebuild the Commonwealth. It was hard to believe, but Trance was not prone to lying.

He wondered what role he had played as well as his friends in this alternate time line. He doubted they would have refused to help, no matter what Rhade had done in the past. He rubbed his chin in thought, wondering more on how he had dealt with Rhade when they had met again. Shaking his head he threw those thoughts off. They had more pressing things to think about and to do than wondering about the mysteries of a time line only Trance and Gaheris remembered. He saluted Dylan as he came to stand in front of him, as did Jenny and Faith who were with him.

"Welcome aboard Captain Hunt," he said formally, as some of his crew were present. "We have much to discuss, please follow me to the conference room," he added and then began to lead them to the room in question.

"Good to be here," Dylan responded, as he looked around and noted the similarities between the Dawn's Twilight and Andromeda.

Not that he was really surprised by this as both ships were of the same class, the pride of the Commonwealth fleet a Glorious Heritage Class Heavy Cruiser. Granted there were some structural differences in some ships as well as a few alternate designs but all in all they were the same. He knew in the future there would be even newer versions of the class, if history played out as before which he intended to ensure not to happen.

"How long do you think we have before Command notices our absence?" Gaheris inquired quietly, so that they were not overheard.

"If we are lucky they will not notice it for some time," Dylan responded. "And even if they do notice I am sure I can come up with a reasonable reason as to why we had to leave our patrol," he added with a grin.

"Any sign of Trance, Dylan?" Faith asked, as they neared the conference room.

"Not yet Faith, but I am sure she will be along once she has recovered," Dylan assured her. "What she did must have taken every little bit of power she had," he mused.

"Not just Trance's power, but Dawn's as well," Jenny reminded him. "It drained her and she is still very weak from the after effects of what they did," she informed them. "Buffy is quite annoyed by the outcome. She fears anymore of a drain and Dawn would have perished," she added with a shake of her head.

"I doubt Trance would have put Dawn at risk of such a fate," Rommie stated after thinking it over. "She is not that kind of person, plus there is a connection between Dawn and Trance that I do not fully understand, but it is there," she continued as the others listened.

"Their nature may be similar, but we do not know if they are the same race, like Trance has speculated before," Faith cut in. "I think we should be keeping our minds on what we are facing. We can find the answers about Dawn when we save the universe," she stated.

"Agreed," Xander said with a nod. "I just hope whatever we come up with actually does what we've failed to stop three times already," he prayed, as they entered the conference room.

"Gaheris and I have already discussed this and we think we know two things we have to do," Dylan put in as he sat down.

"And what are they?" Tara inquired.

"First we have to stop the Nietzschean Rebellion and ensure that they stay loyal to the Commonwealth," Gaheris informed them.

"And how the hell do we do that?" Giles inquired, not believing that would be an easy goal considering future events.

"At this moment in time we are still tightly tied to the Commonwealth. The treaty with the Magog has not happened yet and thus we have time to convince them that staying allies is the only way to save the Nietzschean people," Gaheris explained. "The only pride at the moment which truly wants to break away is the Drago - Kazov pride. They want control of not only my people, but the universe itself," he continued. "They used the treaty to turn the majority of my people against the Commonwealth and to stop that event we have to take away their strongest asset in forming the rebellion that destroyed the Commonwealth," he finished before leaning back in his seat and letting them absorb what he had said.

"How much time do we have before the treaty is signed, Gaheris?" Dawn inquired, still looking pale and weak from what she and Trance had done to bring them here.

"From what I have read, whilst on our way here, the treaty will be signed within a week, if I calculated the time right," Gaheris answered grimly. "So we do not have a lot of time," he added.

"So we have to move fast," Tara concluded. "What is the other thing we must do?" she inquired.

"Yeah, you said there were two things we had to do," Willow piped in, wondering if a week was long enough for them to do enough to save the universe.

"We have to convince the High Guard to go to war with the Magog," Dylan told them, looking each of them in the eye. "We have to weaken them and push them back away from the boarders of the Commonwealth. We have to buy time to allow the Commonwealth to grow in strength again," he explained.

"Strength, but the Commonwealth is at the height of its power at this point in time," Buffy argued, looking at Dylan as if he was crazy.

"Is it?" Dylan asked, taking no offense at Buffy's tone. "One of the reasons the Commonwealth fell so easily to the Nietzschean rebellion was due to the fact that it had stagnated and grown weak," he continued. "It has not fought a major war in years. We were caught completely off guard and were destroyed piece by piece," he stated, running a hand through his hair. "There were Nietzschean's stationed at the most important places in the Commonwealth, including the palace where the empress was assassinated before anyone knew what was really going on," he went on. "No, the Commonwealth may look strong, but in reality it is weak and the Drago's know this. It's why they are pushing so hard to break away at this point in time," he finished his explanation.

Silence descended once he had finished and the group as a whole either looked at one another in dismay or just leaned back in their seats and took in what Dylan had just admitted, it only added to the seriousness of their mission.

(Lambent Kith Nebula)

Trance stared in shock at her fellow Avatars as they admitted the truth of whom and what Dawn was. It was so shocking that she fell to the ground and tried to come to grips with this truth. The admission of how Dawn had ended up on Earth in the first place hurt. It was so hard to accept that Dawn was not only her daughter, but that she had been kidnapped hundreds of years ago by a fellow Avatar who had been corrupted by the Abyss, as its first move against them.

Dawn's powers were a little more advanced than those of all other Avatars, as she was the first child born to any Avatar in many eons. The reason she did not remember any of this was that her memory had been wiped during her fight with the evil Avatar during her attempted rescue of Dawn. During the fight she had managed to injure the Avatar so badly that it died from its wounds, but in its last moments as she tried to get the answers as to where it had taken Dawn it had struck its final blow, which had wiped her memory of the entire thing.

The reason none of her fellow Avatars had told her the truth for so long was that none of them could locate Dawn and so did not want to cause her undue pain and heartache, even with their collective power which was almost impossible to believe.

Clearly the Abyss had played a hand in ensuring that they could not track down the missing Dawn, but why, was a question none of them could answer. Had it been a ploy to distract them or had the Abyss a reason to fear Dawn? Could it have sensed some kind of threat from her somewhere in the future? Now that she knew the whole truth, she had to come to terms with it and then somehow find a way to break this news to Dawn and her friends. That would not be an easy task and she doubted Buffy would receive this news very well, still it would have to be done as Dawn deserved to know the truth about her existence.

(Dawn's Twilight)

"So how do we convince High Command to go to war with the Magog, instead of signing a peace treaty with them?" Dawn finally asked, breaking the silence that had prevailed in the room for half an hour.

"We'll have to first talk to some of the other fleet captains and admirals and gain their support, before we go and meet with Admiral Stark," Dylan answered. "If we can convince Stark of the need to fight the Magog we have a good shot of convincing the rest of command," he added.

"Why not attack them ourselves and force a war?" Willow asked.

"That would not be a good idea Wills," Xander responded. "It would take the choice from command and especially our fellow High Guard and make them resent us. We'd most likely lose our positions and command could attempt to make peace anyway in a much worse way than what we know will happen," he continued. "We have to ensure that we have support for a war and so Dylan's idea is the only way we can do this," he stated.

"But that will take time as well," Giles argued. "If Gaheris is correct, we only have a week to do these things before the treaty is signed. Convincing both command and the Nietzschean's of what needs to be done is not going to be easy and will take time," he said with a worried tone. "Time, we may not have," he added.

"You have a point Giles, but what choice do we have?" Jenny asked with a raised eyebrow. "I would suggest we split up and do both at the same time, but I know for a fact we can't do that. We need Dylan, Xander and Gaheris for both ideas," she summarized.

"No we don't. We need Dylan and Gaheris to meet and convince the Nietzschean's to stay allied with the Commonwealth, as they are both well known and respected by them," Rommie broke her silence. "Dylan has many friends who are Nietzschean's and that will help in their arguments, but Xander can meet with Stark and speak to the other fleet commanders," she informed them.

"Don't you think Dylan's engagement to Stark's niece would be helpful in gaining Stark's help?" Buffy asked, missing the wince both Dylan and Rommie had at this question.

Gaheris however did notice it and he knew exactly why as well. He wondered how they would deal with what was, clear to him, the advancement of their relationship. Dylan and Rommie had always been close, even before 'The Fall' and Rommie's avatar creation by Harper in the future, but it was clear to him that the feelings they had for one another had grown and they had become a lot closer. He wondered if they had actually crossed the line and begun a relationship in their time. How would they deal with the fact that Sara was once again alive and engaged to Dylan.

"Not necessarily Buffy," Twilight interjected. "Dylan may be engaged to Stark's niece, but that does not make her treat him as anything less than a fellow officer," she reminded the group. "In fact she expects much more out of him and cuts him even less slack than anyone else," she continued. "She would not respond well to been confronted by Dylan for the need to go to war. He can put his name up in support, but I think it would be a bad idea to let him be the one to talk to her," she finished.

"I agree," Dylan said with a nod, doing his best not to think of anything but the reason they were here, but it was hard when the subject at hand reminded him of other more personal problems. "Stark would not be amused by me arguing for war. She would believe I had lost my mind or was acting up," he admitted. "Alex would be a better candidate for that discussion," he told them clearly.

"Should be a fun meeting," Xander said with a humorous smile. "No matter how I play this, Stark is not going to be happy, but considering what she became down the line I guess this is a better option," he concluded.

"Just do the best you can Xan," Tara said with an encouraging smile. "I am sure if you have enough support from the fleet commanders and your fellow captains she will listen," she assured him. "I fear Dylan and Gaheris have the harder argument to face," she continued while glancing at the two. "I am sure it will not be easy to fight the hold the Drago's might have on the other Nietzschean clans and we do not know how most of them feel at this time about the Commonwealth," she explained her view of things.

"What you say is true Tara, but it is better to confront them now than after the treaty," Gaheris responded with a frown and a dark look in his eyes. "I believe as long as that treaty does not happen we can convince the majority of them to stand with us and ignore the Drago's calls for rebellion," he stated with as much conviction as he could.

"Ok, say we succeed on both counts what about the Abyss?" Faith asked, having listened to what was been said very carefully and she hoped they could succeed with both challenges. "Even if we push the Magog back and weaken them, the Abyss is still going to show up, isn't it?" she inquired.

"You are probably right Faith, but maybe we can buy ourselves more time to find a way to either contain it or to actually destroy it," Dylan stated with a half hearted smile.

"Maybe it will buy the time for Trance to finally realize what she has to do to help us in this," Dawn pointed out. "We all know that she has something to do with actually fighting the Abyss, maybe time will be all she needs to realize how to fight it," she told them with a hopeful smile.

"We can but hope," Jenny responded as the others exchanged looks and nodded in agreement.

"Now we that we finished that, maybe we can discuss what Trance said about telling us the truth of who you are?" Dylan inquired.

Silence descended again as Xander and his friends exchanged unsure and worried looks. They had no clue why Trance had told them to actually tell the truth of who they were to Dylan, Rommie and Gaheris. Xander took a deep breath and after looking at Jenny one more time he began their long tale.

(Ether)

The powers watched as events took motion and frowned as they realized that the plans put in motion actually had a chance of succeeding. They cursed the Sun Avatar again and even more the cursed champion's luck which continued to aid them. So far they had seen no chances of finally destroying them and recreating the galaxy as they wished to, but they were sure one would come along soon.

(Lambent Kith Nebula)

Trance stood still, staring into space trying so hard to think of how to tell Dawn the truth, but no matter how much she thought about it, there was no easy way to do it. This was going to be one of the hardest things she had ever done, she cursed the Avatar who had kidnapped her daughter in the first place, but she was long dead.

Dawn had lived an entire lifetime and more as a human being, how that had happened was beyond her at this moment in time. Someone must have taken advantage of Dawn's weakened state when she was young. The question was why, but again this was not the time to find the answer. She sighed as she realized that she had wasted enough time, it was time to return to Dylan's side and aid them in their mission and to hope that she found the right words to explain the truth to Dawn and the others.

(Dawn's Twilight)

Dylan, Rommie and Gaheris stared at their friends in shock and disbelief at the tale they had just been told. None of it seemed possible, especially some of the more mystical sides of the story. The only thing that kept them from breaking out in arguments was Trance's word that it was the truth, but even that was pushing it.

"I know it's hard to take in all at once Dylan, but every word we have spoken is the truth," Willow spoke up. "It all happened just as we said it did. We've been alive for more years than you can imagine and we have fought the war between good and evil for all that time," she added.

"Cursed for trying to break free of the unjust control of the powers that be," Dawn said with a bitter smile. "Buffy led and we followed, it has been hard, but we have stayed on the path," she added, placing a hand on her sister's arm that had flinched at the mention of her actions in the past.

This had little effect on Dylan and the others, who continued to try and take all of this in, but it was so much information and most parts of their brains screamed they were making it all up.

"Return to you ship Dylan and begin to make preparations to meet with the Nietzschean clans and think over what we said," Xander suggested. "I'll get to work on gathering support for war with the Magog. We can discuss our true path at another time," he told them.

"Good idea," Trance said as she appeared. "Time is against us. The Abyss knows what we plan and it is moving to counter us," she warned them. "It was one of the things I learned from my fellow Avatar's," she explained. "We need to be quicker," she stated.

"Then we best get started," Dylan said, after shaking his head and refocusing on the major problem. "As Xander said, we can discuss this other business at another time," he added, before he turned and headed back to the slip fighter followed by Rommie and Gaheris.

Faith ran to join them and escorted them out. Trance hesitated for a few seconds and was staring at Dawn, who began to look confused at the look in her eyes. Trance turned and quickly headed after Dylan, losing the courage at the moment to admit the truth to Dawn and the others.

"That went well," Buffy said with a small smile as the others just stared at her in surprise, as it was not often she made a joke anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(Andromeda Ascendant)

Dylan sat in his cabin wondering just what the next few days would bring. After a rather interesting conversation with many of his Nietzschean friends they had agreed to help set up a meeting between him and the prides. A so called council would be called to discuss matters. Gaheris had told him it was not a common thing between the prides, until after they had chosen to betray the Commonwealth.

Of course it hadn't lasted for long. They had set upon one another at the first opportunity and thus left the known worlds open to the Magog. They had seen the weakened state of both what was left of the Commonwealth and the Nietzschean alliance and they had struck in force and laid waste to everything. Nothing but bloody carnage followed and those who survived were plagued by the nightmares of what they had seen in those dark days.

Alex and his crew had witnessed the fall first hand and survived it, but not without being changed by the experience. He and Rommie had been there at the beginning of the fall, but they had not experienced the full horrors of it all. Gaheris was the same as them. They had escaped it all by being frozen in the black hole. He doubted that if things went badly again that they would be so fortunate again. Fortunate he snorted in contempt, sometimes when things were at their worst he felt it would have been better had he and the Andromeda not been frozen, but destroyed during the fall. Luckily he never kept those thoughts for long and they could still save the known worlds if they were lucky.

He owed it to the everyone he knew to try until his dying breathe, for the crews both past and future who had followed him into the fire again and again to stop the long night. If they succeeded then the lives of Beka, Harper, Telemachus Rev if he somehow came to live and even Tyr would be better than they had been. Tyr may have betrayed them in the end, but he had stood by them for three long hard years and helped create the new Systems Commonwealth. Maybe he had lost hope in the dream or maybe he just thought his people could safeguard the known universe better. But for reasons he guessed he would never know Tyr had betrayed them. They hadn't parted as enemies more like estranged friends. He knew Beka had mixed feelings for their former friend and even Harper was conflicted on the matter, but they all harbored hatred for him for bringing about a second fall of civilization.

But that was all part of a future that no longer existed and might never exist if they were lucky. At this moment in time Andromeda was heading for the planet where the meeting with the Nietzschean prides would happen and he had to succeed in convincing them of staying a part of the Commonwealth. He almost jumped as Rommie's holographic self appeared before him, she looked concerned he noted.

"Dylan, are you okay?" she inquired and the mere fact she used his first name showed the integration with Rommie was complete. She was now every bit his Rommie from the future as her avatar was.

"Just thinking a little too deep Rommie," he responded as he ran a tired hand through his hair as he sat up a little in his seat. "A few stray thoughts here and there," he added.

"It is a lot to take in, isn't it?" Rommie responded after a brief silence. "After five long years of getting used to be in the future, of trying to forget all we lost we are now back where we began," she continued. "People who were long dead are suddenly back alive," she added with a grim look on her lovely features. "Including Sara," she paused here and Dylan knew she had just reached one of the biggest personal problems they now faced.

Sara Riley his long dead fiancée was once more alive and she had no clue how he had changed. From his point of view she had died and he had moved on. How was he supposed to feel about this? Then there was the closeness he now shared with Rommie which went far beyond mere friendship or comradeship. They loved one another, it was against all logic and yet it was true. Was there anything they could do about it, especially now that they were back in the old Systems Commonwealth? He didn't know and at the moment there was nothing he or she could do to find an answer.

"I know how you feel," he finally spoke. "I look at the crew out there and have to do all I can not to stare at them. To me they are ghosts of long dead people," he admitted. "Even Sara, it took me a long while to put her behind me and to move on," he went on as he stood and began to pace a little. "Now I have to work out where I actually stand, what I will do if we succeed in our mission," he told her. "What do we do Rommie?" he inquired as he spun and locked his gaze on her.

Rommie didn't know how to really answer him, she was still getting used to all the new information and memories she'd gained from her avatar and it had already changed her far beyond her former programming. Her feelings for Dylan, which had always been within her, were now far more than they had been the day before. Before the fall a romance had been out of the question, hell she hadn't even had an avatar back then. Once in the future that changed thanks to Harper. Her avatar gave her a whole new lease of life and more importantly allowed her to experience a far more broad range of emotions. The most important of course had been love. Having viewed her avatars memories of falling in love with the balance of judgment avatar Gabriel she knew love could be a wonderful thing. However it could also be a very dangerous emotion as well. Gabriel had used her avatars feelings against her and almost destroyed her, Dylan and the entire ship and crew and that worried her. However Dylan was not Gabriel, he would never abuse her trust or her love for him. Of that she was certain, but still Sara was a very big problem in her eyes as was the laws of the Commonwealth. AI's may have all the rights and privileges every other race has, but they were now allowed or even supposed to have relationships.

"I don't know Dylan, I really don't," she finally told him with a helpless shrug. "Is there anything we can do?" she asked. "Sara is alive, well, you are engaged to her and will soon marry her," she reminded him. "I'm an AI. I'm not supposed to have such relationships," she stated almost sounding bitter before she vanished.

Dylan let out a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand through his hair and started to pace again. He doubted Rommie in any of her incarnations would want to see him right now after that discussion. He moved over to the window in his cabin and looked out. There was so much to do and his problem with Sara and Rommie was not that important in the bigger picture.

+T+

Trance sat in her own quarters trying to figure out how to tell Dawn she was her daughter. No matter how she thought this through she knew it wasn't going to be easy. Buffy was sure to explode and some of the others might react badly to this news as well. But Dawn deserved to know the truth, although she was sure Dawn would not exactly be happy at first with the news. She had grown up human and even though she knew her memories were false, she still saw herself as the daughter of the long dead Joyce Summers and sister to Buffy.

+T+

(Dawn's Twilight)

Xander stood on the bridge unsure how to really proceed with his part of the mission. Dylan had already left with the Andromeda for the big meeting with the Nietzschean prides and in Xander's view Dylan had the easier job. Trying to get enough support for a war against the Magog was really going to be hard. He was well respected in some circles, but nowhere near Dylan and some of the other captains in the High Guard. Still he had to try and do the best he could. He glanced around his bridge as Faith and the others went about their jobs, for them he had to try.

"Ok Faith the bridge is yours," he said, turning to his second in command. "I will be in my quarters making some calls. Call me if something major happens," he added to which she nodded.

"Five by five Captain," Faith shot back with a smile as he began to walk away.

As Xander headed for his quarters Tara soon met him on the way, clearly wanting to discuss something with him. He indicated she should wait until they were in his cabin. Whatever she wants to say might best not be overheard. Once there he quickly sat down and got comfortable, while Tara sat down at his desk. "So Tara, what do you want to discuss?" Xander inquired as he leaned back.

"I did a full scan of the others once I awoke from whatever it was Dawn and Trance did to bring us here," Tara reported with a small smile. "We seem to be in good health with no side effects, although Dawn has yet to regain full strength and is easily tired," she continued. "I recommend you place her on light duties for the next forty eight hours just to be certain her health doesn't gets worse," she advised as she also got comfortable. "I'm worried if she over taxes herself at the moment it could actually harm her," she stated.

"Is it really that bad?" Xander shot back as he leaned forward, concerned by what Tara was indicating. "I thought she'd get her strength back quickly," he admitted.

"No, whatever they did drained her of nearly all her energy," Tara answered. "Remember Dawn is not really human, no matter how much she seems like one. As the key she was made of energy and I'm guessing the loss of nearly all of it could in normal circumstances kill her," she told him with a worried look in her eyes. "Probably the only thing keeping her alive is the curse the powers put on us to keep us alive," she admitted.

Xander instantly got back to his feet and ordered Twilight to inform Dawn she was on light duty for the next forty eight hours. He also had her put the order through to Faith and Buffy as well to ensure his order was carried out. He knew Dawn could sometimes be stubborn, but where her health was concerned he was taking no chances, especially seen as he still believed the powers had revoked the curse that had made them immortal.

"If I'm right we'll all have to be more careful from now on Tara," Xander said as he sat back down. "I'm certain that before we were brought back here by Trance and Dawn the powers revoke the curse. I'm certain they intended us to die finally," he told her.

Tara looked a little surprised by his suggestion, but quickly saw his point. "I'll pass it along to the others when I leave Xan," she told him. "If you are correct then we will have a harder time of completing our mission than we first thought," she concluded.

"I know," Xander agreed with a nod of his head. "Hopefully, if I'm right, we'll still all be here at the end of all off this," he told her, admitting his concern some of them might now make it.

Tara reached across the desk and took his hand in hers. "I'm sure you'll lead us through this as you have with everything else. You took the role Buffy once had before we were cursed and you have done it well," she explained with a smile. "Had Buffy not fallen into such bad depression I'm sure we would be twice as likely to come through this without much trouble, as it is we still have you and we have each other," she stated.

"After all she went through before we were cursed and then what followed it was no surprise she cracked Tara," Xander said with a sigh. "I wish she had managed to handle the loss and the pain of what we've gone through. She held herself responsible for our curse, when in reality we all made our own choice to follow her in rebellion against the powers," he continued as he ran a tired hand through his hair as he remembered some of their past. "At least she is still with us, even after she changed so much. Some of her old spirit still resides within her," he stated confidently.

"Maybe if we actually succeed in our mission she will come back completely," Tara suggested with a hopeful smile that Xander shared. "The last thing I wanted to say was I want you to come to medical so I can scan you as well, just to be safe," she finally changed the topic.

"I'll be down soon. I need to make a start in contacting some of the other captains before I do anything else," Xander replied. "It is not going to be easy, unless of course there was a unknown level of hatred for the Magog and the idea of making peace with them," he admitted thoughtfully, "I don't remember anyone actually complaining about the peace treaty with the Magog the first time around, do you?" he asked as he glanced at her.

"No I don't, but that doesn't mean it didn't exist at all," Tara responded. "It could be that a lot of people disagreed with the treaty, but kept quite knowing it would do no good to speak out against it," she suggested before she stood up. "I'll see you in medical," she told him before she turned and left.

Xander watched her go, wondering exactly how difficult this was going to be. After a few minutes of deep thought he turned on his com system and began to make the first call.

+T+

Dawn stared at Twilight in surprise as she relayed Xander's orders and was about to argue when Buffy placed her hand on her shoulders. The look in her eyes said it all and she also noted Faith move to join them. It was clear she would have to obey the order. She also knew there was a good reason for Xander doing this. She was weak and tired from bringing everyone backwards in time with Trance, far more than she had ever felt before in her long life. Nodding her head in agreement she turned and left the bridge and headed for her quarters to rest.

Buffy watched her go, relieved she hadn't put up a fight as she had expected to have to deal with. Her sister was a very stubborn person like their father had been well before he'd left them. She may be a vastly different person to who she had once been, but she still cared greatly for her sister. The only family she still had at least blood wise. Xander, Willow, Giles and the others were family as well, but family she'd chosen as they had chosen her back when they'd been normal humans. The curse inflicted on them by the powers that be had struck them all differently, but she had born the burden of it happening in the first place. As time passed and people they loved died she grew more and more inverted. The pressure she always felt had grown and begun to change how she acted.

"She'll be okay B," Faith's softly spoken voice broke through her morbid thoughts and she turned to her fellow Slayer.

"I know she will be Faith," Buffy agreed with a slight smile. "But Dawn has always liked to push herself. Sometimes beyond her limits and it worries me," she added. "Curse or no curse, I wonder sometimes just how far we can push our bodies," she went on. "How much damage we can take before it is too much, before the powers decide to just finally get rid of us," she finished darkly.

"Yeah I know I've thought that myself a time or two," Faith admitted. "But it isn't up to the powers B, it is up to us," she told her. "We made a choice to step out from their control, that is why we followed you all those years ago and not once have any of us regretted it, no matter what you may think personally," she explained at Buffy's quick glance at her. "You didn't fail us B. I know a lot of us look to Xander now to lead us, but that is mostly down to the fact he seems to fit the High Guard so very well, probably thanks to those military memories he got way back," she continued. "But in the end nothing has changed, in the end you are still the leader of our group and we will follow you if you ever want to reclaim that," she stated with what she hoped was a confident voice.

Buffy stared at her friend for a few moments in surprise, having not heard anything so deep from her, at least not often, maybe she had a point. For long she'd the past rule her actions in the now. Maybe she should not lose all hope just yet. Maybe it was time she pulled herself together again, for her family and for the rest of the universe they were trying so very desperately to save. Maybe it was time to let go of the blame she'd held onto for so long.

"Thanks Faith," she finally said. "Maybe you are right, maybe it is time I got myself back together," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "I know it will not be as easy as I make it out, but I can try," she added. "But I don't think I'll take lead again, not while we are High Guard. As you said this is where Xander excels and I won't take it from him and I would not want my own ship and break apart our group," she went on and her smile grew as she turned and walked away.

Faith watched her go, relieved her words had finally gotten through. "It's about damn time B," she whispered and hopefully her fellow Slayer would manage to get herself back together. She turned and went back to her station, nodding at Willow and Giles as she did so.

+T+

(Darkness of Space)

The Abyss had finally come up with a response to the actions of its hated enemies and their chosen vessels. It would rain down blood and destruction on the known universe even earlier than it had planned. The Magog would lay waste to everything they could, even without the world ship that was galaxies away they were more than a match for the Commonwealth, even if it hadn't been weakened yet by civil war.

+T+

(Ether)

The powers watched with growing anger as events continued to turn in favor of the rebellious pawns who had done nothing but upset their plans. Even the blond Slayer who had led her fool friends into rebelling was somehow beginning to regain her true self. One of the best things their curse had done was to break the blonds' spirit. They cursed the sun avatar, but still found no way to make her pay or for them to stop them succeeding in actually saving the known universe, but they were certain such an opportunity would come, it had to.


End file.
